BANTAM -- A state trooper was sent to New Milford Hospital Tuesday, where staff discovered he suffered a scratched cornea, possibly a result of a spitting incident during an arrest.

Connecticut State Police said Officer Patrick Kessler suffered the right eye injury when 35-year-old Amy A. Burton spat at him during a domestic disturbance outside of her 29 Sandstrom Road home in Washington, Conn. Kessler was one of the initial responding officers to an incident where Burton appeared to be intoxicated and threatened police with a pair of hedge clippers.

Police said Burton, holding the hedge clippers, told one officer, "Don't come any closer, or I will hurt you with this."

When police finally got Burton to drop the hedge clippers and forced her to stand up, she threw herself to the ground, "flailing her arms" and not complying with police commands. As soon as she was handcuffed, police said Burton spat at Kessler.

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"At the hospital," the police report states, "[Kessler] was subjected to a tetanus injection and blood work to determine if he had been inflicted with any infectious diseases."

Kessler was later released from the hospital, but police said it is "undetermined" how much time he will miss because of the injury.

Burton was arraigned Wednesday in Bantam Superior Court on charges of disorderly conduct, interfering with an officer, assault on a police officer and second-degree threatening. The charges derived from a call to police by Burton's parents who said they felt threatened by her and locked her out of the house when she began drinking at 10 a.m. and "ran her filthy mouth."

According to her parents, Burton's alcohol consumption, mixed with her medication, makes her become violent. Burton didn't hit either of them, but when they locked her out, she allegedly picked up the hedge clippers and attempted to break into the house through the windows.

Burton was released on a written promise to appear on June 7 and is directed to cooperate with a jail diversion program. The court also served Burton two protective orders for the victims.